Racing Point, Mercedes affiliation depends on 2021 rules

A closer collaboration between Racing Point and Mercedes would depend on the outcome of the next major Formula 1 regulation overhaul scheduled for 2021, according to Toto Wolff.

Mercedes currently supplies the former Force India squad with power units, gearbox and hydraulics, while Racing Point will begin using the German manufacturer’s wind tunnel later this year to aid its car development.

Having previously used the Toyota Motorsport wind tunnel in Cologne since 2015, a switch to use Mercedes’ has proven attractive due to its closer proximity to Racing Point’s Silverstone base.

The move has led to suggestions that the two outfits are planning on forming a ‘B-team model’ similar to the arrangement that currently exits between Haas and Ferrari.

“We are not doing a Haas-Ferrari model because Haas was a new entry, a team created from scratch,” Wolff said. “These guys exist for a long time. I don’t see what’s so bad in a Haas-Ferrari model actually.

“We have enabled somebody that was keen to enter Formula 1 in setting up a team, with the cooperation with Ferrari it got out of the blocks really well, and fights solidly in the midfield. I think that’s good for Formula 1.

“Our model is very different. For the reasons stated before, Andy [Green] and his team know pretty well what they want to achieve with the car, they have a solid technical group of people and will go in that direction.

“They will be using some of our infrastructure and we will see where that moves for the 2021 regulations. Once these are carved out, we will decide which of the areas we want to collaborate and where it is possible, regulatory-wise.”

Racing Point technical director Andrew Green said the team is open to extending its ties with Mercedes in the future in its continued drive to be more efficient.

“Later this year we’ll be moving into the Mercedes tunnel in Brackley for purely efficiency reasons,” Green explained.

“Our aero department happens to be located in Brackley; Mercedes wind tunnel happens to be located in Brackley. It’s a lot easier to go testing in Brackley than it is in Cologne. So, when it was offered as an opportunity for us to go testing there, it was an obvious choice.

Asked if he believes a power unit and wind tunnel supply should be as far as an F1 team affiliation is allowed to go, Green replied: “I hope not, because we take their gearbox and hydraulics as well. I’d like that to stay.

“I think that’s everything that is being discussed for 2021, I think that’s all on the agenda that Toto was referencing earlier and it is what I was referencing earlier as well. It’s where we go forward as a team, thinking ahead for 2021.

“We want to build our team to be the most efficient team based around those regulations and when those regulations are finalised we will have a clear idea of what we need to do.”